MAX FIEDLER aka MEXER

Max Fiedler, aka Mexer is a freelance illustrator, animator and game-designer based in Düsseldorf, Germany. Since 2005 he is a lecturer at the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf, as well.

all images (c) Max Fiedler www.mexer.pigsell.com

How would you describe your work?

I work as a freelance illustrator, so the work resulting out of jobs are very diverse.
And thats what i love about the job, you never know what you will work on the next day.
And in what topic you will dive in to.

My illustrations are mostly hand drawings, processed with photoshop. I love to draw with pen on paper, but lately i'm sitting way to long in front of a screen. I love to tell stories, in a single illustration or in a comic.


What course did you study and which university?

I studied communication design at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf – university of applied sciences.
Since 2001 i started freelancing, mostly illustration, animation and gamedesign and at that time little bit of web- logo- and fontdesign. Since 2005 I am a lecturer at Fachhochschule Düsseldorf holding a gamedesign workshop.

What environment do you find yourself working in the best?

For some reasons i often find my ideas not on my workdesk, but on the train, in the car, making the dishes or walking around. Therefor I am always carrying my sketchbook (always a small one, and most of the time my regular a4 sketchbook). I really enjoy having the freedom to do so, but at the end i sit in front of the screen in my studio.

What or who is your main inspiration?

Thats a very tough one, i think i just can say something about my early inspirations/ influences.
There is french illustrator Tomi Ungerer who i really loved as a kid since my father is a big fan, the early Lurchie advertising-comics handed out from the local shoestore »Salamander«.

The huge insect collection of our neighbour then, who was a goldsmith. Later all kinds of Computer- and Videogames. Today i guess my main inspiration besides countless comic artists around the world (but mostly france) is nature – how cheesy this may sound.

What advise would you give to a fresh graduate that wants to pursue a career like yours?

Buy a sketchbook and never stop drawing, allways draw, do not draw for someone else in these books, just draw for you, try to discard that burden always to draw a masterpiece that is for someone to look at, just draw for the pure fun of it.

Always keep your eyes and ears open and catch those potential project ideas and sketch them down.
If you think thats boring, illustration is nothing for you, and illustrator/ animator never get bored, there's always work to do. I meet a lot of guys spending half the day checking the net for new illustrations and comics, discussing what pens and tools are the best and forget to just draw (latly, i'm afraid i am one of those guys).

Does failure motivate you?

Yes, in many ways. You have to understand, that knowing you failed in a process, is a progress.
So sometimes you stop in the middle of a drawing to see, that this might not be the best direction.
But before you did tried that, you'll never know. It helps to start the concept sketches really fast and for me it also helps to start in a small scale with fast, rough thumb-sketches. But sometimes you have to go all the wrong way to realize that it's the wrong way.

Who is your favorite/ most inspiring illustrator?

Chris Ware, Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar and countless more

You can find more of Max's inspiring Illustrations and Animation on his website:http://mexer.pigsell.com/